Bible Memory for All Bible Memory for All

Affliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

This is the final two verses of Psalm 34 and the culmination of this passage.  God redeems the life of his servant and those that take refuge in him will not be condemned.  This passage celebrates the hope of salvation that we have in Christ.

Throughout this passage we have strong statements that God protects and cares for his people.



* 4 – The LORD answered me and delivered me from all of my fears

* 5 – Those who look on him shall never be ashamed

* 6 – The LORD heard him and saved him from all of his troubles

* 7 – (He) encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.

* 9 – Those that fear him have no lack

* 10 – Those that seek the LORD lack no good thing.

* 15 – The Eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, his ears toward their cry.

* 17 – the LORD hears and delivers them

* Vs 18 – The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

* 19 – But the LORD delivers him out of them all



These are strong statement that show the LORD’s love and protection for his people, but this final verse includes the phrase, “the LORD redeems the life of hiss servants,” This idea is different than simply God’s protection, his care or his provision.  Redeem is a different word and contains the idea of paying the price for someone.

Webster’s dictionary defines Redeems as:



* to make (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) better or more acceptable

* to exchange (something, such as a coupon or lottery ticket) for money, an award, etc.

* to buy back (something, such as a stock or bond)



(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redeem)

This great Psalm concludes with a reference of how God saves his people, but not only from the cares of this world, but from the price of their sin.  Jesus is the payment that “bought us back” from the wages of our sin.  How Great is our God who loves us and paid the price to redeem us?

Amen

To download full size image, [Click] on the picture below, then [Right Click] on the picture and select “Save As.”  To change your desktop wallpaper, [Right Click] in the image and select “set as desktop background.”





The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Music: http://www.bensound.com

Psalm 34: 19-20

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

He keeps all his bones;

Not one of them is broken.

 

This verse seems counter intuitive.  Many are the afflictions of the righteous?  Why is that?  We would hope that it says little are the afflictions of the righteous, but that is not so.  The Bible never tells Christians that their path will be easy, just that God will be with them.  In fact, many Christians experience a more difficult life because of their faith.  John 16:33 tells us that.

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world

Jesus is telling his disciples that they will have a difficult life, that the life of a follower of Christ will be difficult, but that he has overcome the world.  What a wonderful thought that Jesus will be with us in our suffering.

John 15:18 reminds us that Jesus was hated too,

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

Jesus was ridiculed, hated, and even murdered for who he is, how also should we be willing to suffer with him.

But the verse does not leave us there, suffering all by ourselves.  Jesus tells us that He will be with us to the ends of the earth, and Hebrews asks this question, if God is for us, who can be against us?

Hebrews 13:5b – 6

…because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can men do to me?”

To download full size image, [Click] on the picture below, then [Right Click] on the picture and select “Save As.”  To change your desktop wallpaper, [Right Click] in the image and select “set as desktop background.”





The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Music: http://www.bensound.com

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears

And delivers them out of their troubles.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

And save the crushed in spirit.

 

This passage is a wonderful promise that God hears us.  It is amazing, to me, that the God of the universe cares about us.  Think of it.  The God that hangs all of the billions of stars in the sky, and suspends the Earth from nothing.  The God that causes all things to be in existence, loves you enough to know how many hairs are on your head.  To know all of the events of your life, and to know when you are calling for Him.  The God of all of the universe hears you and responds.  He keeps his ear toward those who need him.  And he is near to comfort you and save you.

Thank You God for loving us enough to hear us, and to save us.

To download full size image, [Click] on the picture below, then [Right Click] on the picture and select “Save As.”  To change your desktop wallpaper, [Right Click] in the image and select “set as desktop background.”





The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Music: http://www.bensound.com

The eyes of the LORD are towards the righteous

And his ears toward their cry.

The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

God doesn’t have eyes and ears or a face that is like ours, but these verses offer us a compelling picture of God’s distain for sin, and his blessings on those that follow him.  One of the big questions in these verses is the claim that the LORD cuts off the memory of those who do evil.  This promise certainly sounds nice, but we still learn about some of those that have done extreme evil, and they are still named in our history books.  What is this verse telling us, and is it possible that is is a gross overstatement of God’s actions?

To correctly understand this, we need to first keep it in the context of the rest of the psalm.  This passage, as we have learned is showing us God’s love and protection for those who love him, and God’s distain for those that seek evil.  It promises ultimate protection and comfort for those that seek him, and ultimate ruin for those that don’t.  Many of the verses in this psalm seem to be overstatements if we look at them simply from our perspective in our lives, but God’s plan if far more reaching and His patience is far more than we can imagine.  The ultimate end that is in view in this passage is then the ultimate end of all of history.  The entire Bible is filled with God’s promise to make all things new.  This promise is that He will repay evil and He will reward good.  That God himself paid the price for sin, and He is the only judge.  God is promising that ultimately, He will make all things new, and evil will be wiped away.  He is telling us that His face is towards those that seek Him, but he is against those that do evil.

Revelations 21:4 tells us of a day in the future when this will all come to pass.

 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

To download full size image, [Click] on the picture below, then [Right Click] on the picture and select “Save As.”  To change your desktop wallpaper, [Right Click] in the image and select “set as desktop background.”





The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Music: http://www.bensound.com

Keep your tongue from evil

And your lips from speaking deceit.

Turn away from evil and do good;

Seek peace and pursue it.

These two verses are the only two physical actions commanded in the entire chapter of Psalm 34, and as such, create a sort of turning point in the Psalm.  The first part of the chapter is exhortation to seek the Lord, fear the Lord, cry out to the Lord, but the second part of the chapter is almost exclusively promises of the Lords protection, deliverance, and redemption.

The commands are simple, be honest and truthful, turn away from evil (or repent from it) and do good, and pursue peace.  These commands are simple instructions that demonstrate a life spent seeking and following the Lord.  It is impossible to seek the Lord and live a life of dishonesty, and evil.   When we seek God with all our heart, and wait on his salvation our lives will be transformed (vs. 5) and we will demonstrate our transformation in a life of repentance from evil and truthfulness and peace.

To download full size image, [Click] on the picture below, then [Right Click] on the picture and select “Save As.”  To change your desktop wallpaper, [Right Click] in the image and select “set as desktop background.”





The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Music: http://www.bensound.com

Come, O Children, listen to me;

I will teach you to fear the LORD.

What man is there who desires life and loves many days,

That he may see good?

 

Many of us are familiar with Psalm 111:10, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  The passage for this week in Psalm 34 tells us that if we listen to the author (David) he will teach us to fear the Lord.  It would seem, then, that the “fear” of the LORD is a good thing, but what does it mean to fear the LORD?

Fear, today, is a word that is associated with a strong aversion for the unknown.  It is an uneasiness, or dread of the unknown.  God is not something that we do not know, nor is he something that we need to dread.  God loves us and wants the best for us.  He wants a relationship with us and he provided for that relationship through the death of his Son, Jesus Christ.  So what does it mean that, “I will teach you to fear the Lord.”?

Fear of the LORD, in Scripture is a deep respect or awe.  The word fear, in Scripture, is not the same as the way that we use it today.  This verse is calling us to have a reverence, or awe, deep respect for God.  To put him in his rightful place as king and Lord of our lives.  The word fear, here I n this verse, is conveying the idea of establishing God in his rightful place in our lives, and only when we do that can we truly desire good and seek to understand his ways.

To download full size image, [Click] on the picture below, then [Right Click] on the picture and select “Save As.”  To change your desktop wallpaper, [Right Click] in the image and select “set as desktop background.”





The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Music: http://www.bensound.com